Grass Valley man takes plea in drug sting case

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A Grass Valley man arrested in an undercover drug sting took a plea agreement in exchange for 120 days in jail and three years probation.

Andrew John Lindquist, 19 at the time, was arrested in November 2011 after undercover officers set up a deal to buy Adderall, an amphetamine-based medication used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Members of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force had recovered a cell phone during a search in another case that contained text messages to Lindquist, which discussed buying pills from him. An officer posed as a buyer and allegedly received a text from Lindquist, saying he had Dilaudid, a synthetic morphine. The officer arranged to buy six Dilaudids, but Lindquist later backed out, saying he didn’t have any.

A second deal was allegedly arranged to purchase Adderall, and Lindquist agreed to meet the undercover officer in the parking lot of a Grass Valley pharmacy.

Lindquist was subsequently arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance, possession for sale, transportation of a controlled substance and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

In Nevada County Superior Court Thursday, Lindquist pleaded no contest to an added count of maintaining a place for the sale of a controlled substance.

That charge carries a maximum of three years in prison, noted Judge Candace Heidelberger.

But Lindquist’s plea agreement calls for a potential sentence of four months with the possibility of alternative sentencing. If he complete his three years of probation, he can apply to have his conviction reduced to a misdemeanor, Heidelberger said.